| Notes |
- . John Walker, is native of Masham NRY [North Riding Yorkshire] & his wife Jane, daughter of Joseph & Jane Barker of Sedgefield Parish.
XRef: See birth registration of fifth daughter, Alice Walker.
. 1828 Pigot's Directory, Sedgefield, Durham Co., England
Sedgefield is a small market town Township & parish in the north-east division of Stockton ward, 252 miles from London, 11 m. from Durham City, The town is finely seated upon a swell of gravel ground, open to every aspect; is peculiarly healthful, & has been long noted for the longevity of its inhabitants, a indeed is the whole of the parish. Here are alms-houses for 5 poor women & the like number of men, well endowed. Here is endowed a grammar school & the (St. Edmond) church Sunday school educates about 100 children.
In manufactures this town shoe making is the principal trade; & about a mile from the town is a forge for making spades, shovel, & some otter agricultural implements.*
Miscellaneous: Walker, Robert, Manufacturer of spades & edge tools, Sedgefield.
. Miscellaneous Note: Until 1752, when Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar, the New Year started on Lady Day, 25 March.
*Note: Smithing & like-trades continued with John Walker.I sons descendants:
John Thomas Walker & his sons John Sibbald, Robert & George Michael would continue in Canada to make agricultural implements. John Sibbald made the first metal shank plow in Canada. In Erin, Ontario John S Walker & brother Robert Walker in Hamilton, Ontario both also made carriages in their blacksmith shops. The Walker tradition of smithing continued:
KNOWN WALKER Ancestors or Descendants in the Smithing Trades:
Joseph Barker, b.est 1693 at Stanhope, Durham Co., England, Master Foundry Forger.
Joseph Barker ,b. est. 1740, Sedgefield, Forge Master 1805.
John Walker, b.c. 1752, Sedgefield, Blacksmith, Forgeman.
Arthur T Walker, Dundas, Ontario, Tinsmith, Hardware & blacksmith.
Charles Henry Walker, Erin, Ontario, Blacksmtih, carriages & sleighs.
Edward R Walker, Sr., Guelph,ON., Moulder.
Edward R Walker, Jr., Guelph, ON., Moulder.
Robert Walker, Sedgefield, Forgeman, Spade & shovel maker.
James W Walker, Erin, ON. - d. Fergus, ON., Iron moulder.
John Clifford Walker, Erin, ON., Moulder, Crowe Fdy.
John Sibbald Walker, Sr., b. Sedgefield, England, d. Ontario: Erin Foundry & Machine, Carriages, cutters.
John Sibbald Walker, Jr., Erin, Moulder.
Robert James Walker, Machinist (foundry / mechanic).
William Walker, Sedgefield, Forgeman.
William Henry Walker, Hamilton, ON. - died Flesherton, ON., Machinist, Blacksmith
Lofus George Briggs, Bruce Co., ON. - blacksmith (married daughter of blacksmith J S Walker).
Edward Brock, Burlington, ON. -DOFSCO foundry (office). - grandson of blacksmith Chas. H Walker).
John W Felker, Erin, ON., painter in the Erin Fdry. Carriages ( married dau. of blacksmith, Chas. H Walker).
George Grieve, Bruce Co., ON, Blacksmith (married dau. of blacksmith, C. H. Walker).
John Thomas Walker, Sedgefield, Hamilton, Ontario, & returned to England, Waggon maker works, Hamilton, ON.
George Michael Walker, b. England, d. Bruce Co., ON., Waggon maker.
George Walker, Erin, Harness & Farming Implements.
Robert Raymond Walker, Sedgefield - died Hamilton, ON., Carpenter, Carriage & sleigh maker.
Robert Walker, Sedgefield, Whitesmith: Jeweller.
Robert H. Walker, Erin, ON. - died Bruce Co., Jeweller. - Known total of 21 Walker involved in smithing & three in-laws.
. A WALKER
As a proportion of the population Walker is most numerous in the Teesside area of County Durham. It is also found in large numbers around Leeds & Wakefield. There is no evidence that the Walker surname originated on Teesside, but it undoubtedly a northern name. Notably, one of the most famous Walkers was John Walker of Stockton on Tees who invented the friction match in 1827.
As early as 1260 the surname Walker is recorded in Yorkshire where the Assize Rolls mention a Robert le Walker. Le Walker - 'the Walker' is a clue that this was an occupational name, as Walker is one of a number of surnames connected with the cloth making process. A Walker scoured & thickened raw cloth by beating it in water. This was originally done by men who trampled or literally walked on the cloth in a trough - hence walker. In Durham we find a small street called Walkergate, which was the street of the cloth workers who worked at a mill near the River Wear.
An alternative name for the walking process was fulling & this has given rise to Fuller, a surname more commonly found in the south & midlands. Another name for a fuller was a 'tucker' deriving from an Anglo-Saxon word 'Tucian' - 'to torment'. The surname Tucker is primarily associated with south west England. Other cloth working surnames include Webster and Weaver, who wove the raw cloth before it was fulled. After fulling the Teasler was set to work removing lose fibres from the cloth using the Teasel Thistle. This has given rise to the surnames Tazelaar and Tesler. Finally the cloth was dyed by the Dyers who were known in the north as Litsters from the Scandinavian word Litt - to dye. This final process has produced the surnames Dyer & Lister.
A smith is of course a someone who works in metals and the root of the name in England seems to be the Anglo-Saxon word Smitan meaning 'to strike'. Most people called Smiths are descended from someone who worked as a blacksmith, although the variation Smythe can also mean someone who lived near a Smith's forge.
The surname Whitesmith, means a worker of tin,
Brownsmith, a worker of copper or brass &
Goldsmith a worker in Gold. Greensmith is a surname most closely associated with the Midlands and is a nickname for a coppersmith,
Sixsmith is a maker of sickles,
Arrowsmith is a maker of arrows &
Shoesmith is a farrier, that is a maker of horseshoes.
Ref: www.endlandsnortheast.co.uk
. 1810 Universal Gazetteer, United Kingdom.
- Masham, a town in the N. Riding of Yorkshire, with a cotton manufactory. It is seated on the river Ure, 218 miles from London. Market on Tuesday.
. Masham Moor (pronounced Massam) is a small market town in Wensleydale in Harrogate borough of North Yorkshire, England, situated on the western bank of the River Ure. The name derivates from the Saxon Maessa's Ham, the homestead belonging to Maessa. Masham importance is due to its major sheep market & has the largest Market Place in the district. In September is held the annual Sheep Fair.
Masham St Mary is an Ancient Parish in the county of Yorkshire. Other places in the parish include: Burton upon Ure, Swinton with Warthermask & Roomer, Ellenstring, Ellingstons, Ellingstring, Fearby, Healey & Sutton, Healey with Sutton, Healey with Suttons, High Ellington, Ilton, Ilton cum Pott, Ilton with Pott, Low Ellington, Masham Moor, Nether Ellington, Nutwith & Roomer Common, Over Ellington, Pott, Roomer, Swinton, Swinton with Warthermarske, Swinton with Warthermask, Swinton with Warthermaske, & Burton upon Yore. - - -
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1752 - 1829 (77 years)